Storage strttctttbe



F. M. DAVIS.

STORAGE STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5. ma.

Patented May 20, 1919.

FRANCIS M. DAVIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

STORAGE STRUCTURE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 20, 1919.

Application filed February 5, 1918. Serial No. 215,564.

able.

Among theobjects of my invention is the provision of a structure the walls whereof shall be, as nearly as possible, of a unitary, monolithic character, and. of such arrangement or design that the temperature within the structure may be reduced to a degree suflicient for cooling the articles stored therein. Another object is the provision of a structure that is adapted for use in cooling the articles stored, without employing special refrigeration machinery and the use of ice. It is a further object of my invention to provide a storage structure in which the temperature may be maintained at a relatively low degree and the operation of the same shall be continuous and automatic to a great degree. And other objects are the provision of a structure that is simple in operation, readily assembled and built, and which is novel and useful in its operation.

Other objects and advantages will be obvious to others skilled in this art after an understanding is had from the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification.

In the drawings,-

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a storage structure, embodying my invention, portions thereof being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, transverse section taken on line 22, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on line 33, of F 1.

Re erring to the drawings, and more par-.

ticularly to Fig. 1, it will be observed that a suitable foundation 5 is provided, which is preferably circular in outline, and the area inclosed by this foundation is cemented thickly to provide a floor 6 for the structure. An exterior wall 7 of porous, moisture-absorbing material, is erected, to the top of 7 of a reservoir, basin or tank 9.

impervious to water and is dispose horizontally and covers the entire lower structure or storage chamber. The wall 7 is continued up above this ceiling and is made of nonporous material to form the inclosin wall lithin the wall-7 and spaced a distance therefrom, is an inner vertical wall 10, of circular outline, that is spaced away from the outer Wall 7 a distance corresponding approximately with the thickness of each wall to provide an inclosed space 11 between the walls, both of said walls 7 and 10 being ofia monolithic character. This inner wall 10 is constructed of non-porous, non-absorbing material, and the space 11 between these two walls 7 and 10 is preferably filled with sand or other top of the tank: walls 7 and is provided I with a manhol 13, that is closed by a suitable cover 14, whereby admission may be had to the interior thereof. Suitable openings 16 fitted with caps 15 are provided near the outer rim of ceiling 8, that afford com-- munication between the tank 9 and the space 11 between the upright walls, the, purpose of the caps being to seal these openings before the tank is filled with water. A suitable doorway 17 and windows 18, 18 are provided in the walls, for the purpose of access to the interior and to illuminate and venti-- late the storage chamber.

A supply pipe 19 extends from a suitable water source up through the floor 6 of the structure, through the central storage chamber 20 and through the ceiling 8 into the tank 9, for the purpose of supplying water to the latter, and a valve 21 controls th flow of the water through said pipe. An outlet draw-off pipe 22 is disposed in the floor 8 of the tank and extends down through the Suitable cross-bars 29 are disposedin horizontal position connecting the inner and substantially U-shaped in cross-section and outer walls 10 and 7,respectively, 'in a lane a short distance below the ceilin 8. hese cross-bars may be of any convenient design and are referably disposed radially and suitable istances apart to afford a support for segmental-shaped troughs 30, that are are readily assembled in the space 11 through openings'3l'made in the upper portions of the inner wall 10. Suitable inverted U-' shaped troughs 32, slightly less in width than the troughs and closed at their ends, 1

are disposed in'these latter troughs and are each provided with an upwardly projecting hollow stub 33 adjacent their central portion.

' These stubs 33 have the adjacent ends of ceiling 8, or in any other suitable manner; These pipes are partially embedded in the wall 10 and partly extend into the doorway 31, so that a suitable block 36 may be fitted into said doorways to close the openings.

When the structure is in operation, the

reservoir or tank 9 is supplied with a quantity of water and the outlet valve 24 is closed to preventthe escape thereof. The pet-cocks 28 are opened wide enough to permit the water to slowly drip into the basins 35 and through pipes 34 leading therefrom to drip into the segmental troughs 32- through stubs 33. The sand which fills the space 11 between thewalls 7 and 10also covers the troughs and a portion thereof fills in the narrow space between-the troughs, but no sand is intended to get under the inverted troughs. The upper edges of the upright troughs 30 are higher than the inverted troughs 32 positioned therein, so that when the water fills the troughs, it will cover the inverted troughs 32 and stand at the level of tops of the troughs 30. The sand or other material of the'intermediate wall 11, will, by capillary attraction, cause the water to evenly flow over the top of the outer troughs 30 throughout their length and will evenly moisten or dampen the sand .as it trickles down through the same in the space between the walls 7 and 10, and will, to-a greater of less extent, compensate for any unevenness in the level of the upper edges of the troughs 30. The inverted troughs 32 will provide an open space in. troughs 30, that will be free from sand and when the water drops into the latter troughs, it will at once give an upward pressure to the water in the sand,

thereby assisting the capillary attraction thereof'to equally distribute a small quantity of water throughout the length of its respective trough 30. The'sand wall llvwill also check the too rapid downward flow of the water and will distribute and hold the waterv against the porous outer wall 7, so that the. moisture will' be rapidly absorbed thereby.- "The inner wall being of non-porous material,

will repel the water and moisture, so that it will zfind its only outlet or absorption through the porous wall 7, where, by the action of the atmospheric air, it will become evaporated and the heat for this evaporation j will come out of water in wall 7 which, be-

cause of the heat conductivity of walls '10 and 11, will absorb the heat from the storage chamber 20, thus causing a constant elimination of 'theheat from the interior of said chamber.

By means of the sand wall 11 and pet-cocks 28, a greater quantity of water is supplied to the top ofwall' 7 than to the bottom thereof and there is no forcing of the water through the wall 7, such as would be the case in the event the waterwerefurnished to the wall 7 by, a column'thereof standing next thereto. In the "latter case, the greater supply of water would be furnished atthe bottom of wall 7, owing to the pressure of the column,

causing loss of refrigeration, and would also require a greater quantity of water. At any elevation in the sand wall 11, the water containedtherein is cooler than the water in any part above it and the water, at any point, contains an accumulation of refrigeration equalto the evaporation from all of the water evaporated from the wall 7 above it. The water that reaches the bottom of the sand wall 11 isthe coldest and if it is forced through the porous wall by the water pressure abov 1t, it would be replaced by warmer water coming into it at the top, which would consequently reduce the coefficient of refrigeration. It will be found that when the weather, is dry and hot, a temperature can be maintained in the cooling chamber as low as 50 degreesFahrenheit, although the outside temperature may be 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When refrigerated water is desired, the pet-cocks.28 are regulatedsothat the water will accumulate in the sand wall 11 so as to stand at a level above the faucet 39, which is connected by a pipe "38 to the upper end of a sand point 37 position or areas ofthe outer surface of wall 7 the water will evaporate with greater rapidity than on other sections, as, for example,

the sideof the wall that receives theaction of the sun and the prevailing winds. This construction permits me to regulate the quantity of water supplied to each trough, so that the outer surface of wall 7 may be kept equally moist and a greater amount of Water may be absorbed thereby.

In the event the structure is to be used for storing volatile oils, such as petroleum or gasolene, the doorway is made in the form of a manhole tightly closed and sealed by an iron door, and the pet-cocks 28 are 1 then regulated through the window in the top, from the exterior of the structure. In

this event, the wall 7 is made denser so as to carry a larger head of water in the sand .vall and prevent the water running down the exterior thereof. The tank at the top can be made shallow and without a cover, if

desired. As is well known, there is a considerable loss in the gasolene qualities of petroleum, caused by evaporation in the storage tanks, due to the heat on the tanks.

and in many cases the escaping gas attracts lightning and the tankis fired, causing the destruction of the tank and its contents.

When oil is stored in a structure of the kind I have designed, its temperature is lowered by the evaporation of the water on the outside wall and the water in'the tank at the top of the structure, thus preventing the oil from being converted into gas by heat, and

this gas could not escape from the structure by reason of the inner wall being entirely surrounded by a water seal.

l/Vhen it is desired to cleanse the sand or remove it, the caps 15 heretofore mentioned 0 are removed from the opening 16 in the ceiling 8, and the water in the tank ispermitted to flush down through these openings 16 and out through faucets 40 at the bottom of the outer wall, or, in lieu thereof, if the tank is empty, the supply pipe is opened to flush the same. These faucets 40 are disposed upon the outer side of suitable plugs 41 that are tapped into thimbles 42 secured in the wall and in the event the sand itself is to be removed, these plugs 41 may be unscrewed and the same taken out from these manholes. V

While I have illustrated a specific manner of making this structure, the principles thereof may be embodied in other typesof structures, Without materially departing from the spirit of my invention and I, therefore, desire it understood that I do not limit myself to the precise devices illustrated,

as the drawings are, in a sense, merely diagrammatic for convenience of illustration.

W'h'at I claim is 1. A storage structure comprising an impervious inner wall and a porous evaporating outer wall spaced apart to provide a space between the same, moisture-carrying material in said space, a plurality of troughs disposed in the upper portion of said space, means for supplying a liquid to said troughs. and devices for controlling the quantity of liquid supplied to each trough.

2. A storage structure comprising an outer moisture-absorbing wall. an inner non-absorbing wall spaced therefrom, moisture eonveying material in the space between said walls, and means for supplying and controlling the quantity of liquid discharged into said moisture-conveying material.

3. A storage structure comprising an outer moisture-absorbing wall, an inner non-absorbing wall spaced therefrom. moisturecarrying material in the space between said walls, separate troughs in the upper portion of said material. a feed pipe leading to each trough, and means for controlling the quantity of liquid supplied to each feed pipe.

t. A storage structure comprising an inner impervious wall, an outer porous wall spaced therefrom, moisture distributing material between said walls, means for supplying moisture to said material, means for regulating the quantity of moisture so supplied, whereby the moisture utilized in evaporation is made up and no excess of unevaporated moisture cooled by evaporation is permitted to escape.

5. A storage structure comprising an inner substantially impervious wall, an outer relatively porous wall, an interior storage compartment, a liquid tank above said compartment, and means in said storage compartment for supplying and distributing water to said exterior wall.

6. A storage structure comprising inner and outer walls spaced apart the latter wall being porous and capable of evaporating moisture, moisture-distributing material in the space between said walls whereby moisture is conveyed to said outer wall. and means for supplying moisture to said material including a trough embedded in and surrounded by said material.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook. and State of Illinois, this 2nd day of February. 1918.

FRANCIS M. DAVIS.

Witnesses:

E. K. LUNDY, Jr., H. SLACK. 

